3DS SD Card Format | How to Reformat 3Ds SD Card - Qiling  

3DS SD Card Format | How to Reformat 3Ds SD Card


Workable Solutions Step-by-step Troubleshooting
Fix 1. Using Qiling Partition Wizard for 3DS SD Card Format Launch Qiling Partition Master > Right-click the Nintendo 3DS SD...Full steps
Fix 2. Format SD Card for 3DS in Disk Management Press Windows + X > Open Disk Management > Right-click...Full steps
Fix 3. Format 3DS SD Card in File Explorer Open File Explorer > Choose Format on the pop-menu...Full steps
Fix 4. Format SD Card for 3DS in Command Prompt Input Command Prompt on the start menu > Input Diskpart...Full steps

What's 3DS SD Card File System

Are you planning to upgrade the standard micro SD card that came with your 3DS handheld to a bigger one, like 16GB to 32GB or 32GB to 64GB? Then it's extremely important to know the file system your 3DS SD card, because so far, Nintendo products including New Nintendo 3DS, New Nintendo 3DS XL, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo 3DS XL, Nintendo 2DS only support SD/microSD memory cards up to 2GB, SDHC/microSDHC memory cards up to 32GB that pre-formatted with FAT32 file system.

The overall requirements of 3DS are summed up into:

That is to say, SDXC and fast-transfer UHS-type memory cards are not compatible, to make 3DS system read SD card over 32GB, you have to reformat your 3DS SD card to FAT32.

As Nintendo console needs the FAT32 format for SD and SDHC cards, you must be very clear about what your memory cards come pre-formatted and whether it needs to be formatted out of the box. Memory cards are formatted with the following standards:

SD/microSD  2GB or lower  FAT16
SDHC/microSDHC 4GB to 32GB     FAT32
SDXC/microSDXC     64GB or higher   exFAT

How to Reformat 3DS SD Card with High Capacity to FAT32

Those microSD cards have been tested to work seamlessly with the Nintendo 3DS

16GB: SDSDQXL-016G-A46A
32GB: SDSDQXL-032G-A46A

16GB: SDSDQX-016G-A46A
32GB: SDSDQX-032G-A46A

16GB: SDSDQXP-016G-A46A
32GB: SDSDQXP-032G-A46A

8GB: PFM008U-1DCK

...

No matter you got a memory card under 32GB or beyond the capacity, you can adjust it and make it workable on the handheld console. All you need is the help of Qiling Partition Master. On the one hand, SD cards under 32GB with NTFS file system can apply to 3DS by converting NTFS to FAT32; on the other hand, SDXC memory cards between 64GB and 128GB can also go compatible with 3DS provided it is somehow formatted to FAT32.

Using Qiling Partition Wizard for 3DS SD Card Format

Put your 3DS SD card into the card reader of your computer. Follow the guide below to use Qiling free partition manager to select and format the SD card with the FAT32 file system and create a partition with the cluster size set to 32KB. Set it to the primary partition and it will work on any Nintendo 3DS.

Notice:
 Formatting this SD card will erase all data. Back up any data you want to retain.

Step 1. Launch Qiling Partition Master, right-click the partition you intend to format and choose "Format".

format hard disk

Step 2. In the new window, enter the Partition label, choose the FAT32/EXT2/EXT3/EXT4 file system, and set the cluster size according to your needs, then click "Proceed".

format hard disk

Step 3. Then you will see a warning window, click "OK" in it to start formatting the partition to FAT32/EXT2/EXT3/EXT4.

Format SD Card for 3DS in Disk Management

In connection with the 3DS memory card format, Windows Disk Management is another easy-access tool. Format the Nintendo 3DS SD card by the steps.

Step 1. Press Windows + X to enter the Windows Disk Management interface. You will see the hard drive and removable one.

Step 2. Right-click the SD card and choose Format. And choose FAT32 as your file system of Nintendo 3DS SD Card.

format drive in disk management

Format 3DS SD Card in File Explorer

You must be familiar with the File Explorer, the interchange to visit files or drives. Check the memory card shown on the interface and apply the format.

Step 1. Open File Explorer, right-click the 3DS SD card on the pop-menu and choose Format.

Step 2. Choose the FAT32 as your file system.

format usb fat32

Format SD Card for 3DS in Command Prompt

Aside from the above three methods, we also recommend CMD to manage partitions. To operate cmd, you need to execute the following commands one by one.

Step 1. Open Start Menu, run Command Prompt as administrator.

Step 2. Input the commands and press Enter.

Diskpart > list disk > select disk* > list partition > format fs=fat32 quick > Exit

3ds sd card format cmd

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